Practice Policies & Patient Information
About Parklands Surgery
Our team includes seven GPs, six nurses and three health care assistants, as well as our management team, reception and administrative staff.
The Practice is an extended, converted two storey detached house with its own car park. Our facilities include eight consulting rooms for the doctors, and two treatment rooms run by a team of practice nurses.
There is wheelchair access at the main entrance and into the consulting rooms on the ground floor together with accessible toilet facilities for all patients.
We aim to treat all our patients promptly, courteously and in complete confidence.
Practice Policies
Chaperone Policy
Please view our Chaperone Policy here.
Complaints
Making a complaint
Most problems can be sorted out quickly and easily, often at the time they arise with the person concerned and this may be the approach you try first.
Where you are not able to resolve your complaint in this way and wish to make a formal complaint you should do so, preferably in writing as soon as possible after the event and ideally within a few days, as this helps us to establish what happened more easily. In any event, this should be:
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- within 12 months of the incident, or
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- within 12 months of you becoming aware of the matter
Please give as much detail as you can.
If you are a registered patient you can complain about your own care. You are unable to complain about someone else’s treatment without their written authority. See the separate section below.
We are able to provide you with a separate complaints form to register your complaint as well as a third-party authority form to enable a complaint to be made by someone else. Please ask at reception for this or click the links below. You can provide this in your own format providing this covers all the necessary aspects.
Complaint Form
Third Party Consent Form
Send your complaint to
Complaints Manager,
Parklands Surgery,
4 Parklands Road,
Chichester,
West Sussex,
PO19 3DT
Tel: 01243 782819
The practice Complaints Managers are Jamie Irish, General Manager, and Emma Green, Assistant Manager.
What we do next
We look to settle complaints as soon as possible.
We will acknowledge receipt within 3 working days, and aim to have looked into the matter within 10 working days. You may then receive a formal reply in writing, or you may be invited to meet with the person(s) concerned to attempt to resolve the issue. If the matter is likely to take longer than this we will let you know, and keep you informed as the investigation progresses.
When looking into a complaint we attempt to see what happened and why, to see if there is something we can learn from this, and make it possible for you to discuss the issue with those involved if you would like to do so.
When the investigations are complete your complaint will be determined and a final response sent to you.
Where your complaint involves more than one organisation (e.g. social services) we will liaise with that organisation so that you receive one coordinated reply. We may need your consent to do this. Where your complaint has been sent initially to an incorrect organisation, we may seek your consent to forward this to the correct person to deal with.
The final response letter will include details of the result of your complaint and also your right to escalate the matter further if you remain dissatisfied with the response.
If you need help
The Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS) is a free service which offers independent advocacy support should you need it when considering making a complaint. They can be contacted at the following:
Tel: 0300 012 0122
Email: helpdesk@healthwatchwestsussex.co.uk
The Billingshurst Community Centre,
Roman Way,
Billingshurst,
West Sussex,
RH14 9QW
For more information visit their website IHCAS and Healthwatch West Sussex.
Complaining on behalf of someone else
We keep to the strict rules of medical and personal confidentiality. If you wish to make a complaint and are not the patient involved, we will require the written consent of the patient to confirm that they are unhappy with their treatment and that we can deal with someone else about it. Please ask at reception for the Complaints Form which contains a suitable authority for the patient to sign to enable the complaint to proceed.
Where the patient is incapable of providing consent due to illness or accident it may still be possible to deal with the complaint. Please provide the precise details of the circumstances which prevent this in your covering letter.
Please note that we are unable to discuss any issue relating to someone else without their express permission, which must be in writing, unless the circumstances above apply.
We may still need to correspond direct with the patient, or may be able to deal direct with the third party, and this depends on the wording of the authority provided.
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome
You have the right to approach the Health Service Ombudsman.
The contact details are:
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman,
Millbank Tower,
Millbank,
London,
SW1P 4QP
Tel: 0345 0154033
Website: www.ombudsman.org.uk
Data Protection
Confidentiality & Medical Records
Parklands Surgery recognises the need for an appropriate balance between openness and confidentiality in the management and use of information. Parklands Surgery fully supports the principles of corporate governance and recognises its public accountability, but equally places importance on the confidentiality of, and the security arrangements to safeguard, both personal information about patients and staff and commercially sensitive information. Parklands Surgery also recognises the need to share patient information with other health organisations and other agencies in a controlled manner consistent with the interests of the patient and, in some circumstances, the public interest.
Parklands Surgery believes that accurate, timely and relevant information is essential to deliver the highest quality health care. As such it is the responsibility of all clinicians and managers to ensure and promote the quality of information and to actively use information in decision making processes.
Reception and administration staff require access to your medical records in order to do their jobs. These members of staff are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as the medical staff.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Parklands Surgery is aware of and will adhere to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). We will comply with GDPR article 30(1) and will document in writing and maintain a record of our processing activities, covering areas such as processing purposes, data sharing and retention.
This information is available to patients in the following Privacy Notices:
Parklands Surgery Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice will continue to be updated as appropriate (Last updated July 2021).
Working with other Organisations
Our Medical Record Computer System is set-up so that if you receive medical care from one of the organisations below, they can, with your explicit permission, gain access to your GP Medical Record, thus helping them in their care of you.
Community Nursing Team | Onecall & Echo | St Wilfrid’s Hospice | GP Access Hub | Bognor Minor Injuries Unit |
The nurses and other health professionals who work in the community and visit patients at their home | The team who coordinate Urgent Care and End of Life Care in the community | The team who Provide Tailored End of Life Care in the Community & at their Chichester Hospice | The Minor Injury & Minor Illness clinics providing additional GP Appointments | Emergency Nurse Practitioners who treat minor injuries in the Bognor War Memorial Hospital |
These teams will not be able to access your medical record if you have not been registered with them to receive their services. They will also ask for your Explicit Consent to view your GP Medical Record when they first see or speak to you. If you say no, they will not access your record.
If you do not want one or more of these organisations to have this ability, please ask for a Sharing Dissent form from Reception. Please make such a decision carefully as it will mean that even if you subsequently gave them explicit consent, they would not be able to access your record until they have spoken to the Surgery. This would be delayed overnight and at weekends when the surgery is closed and potentially when they need such access the most.
Freedom of Information
Information about the General Practitioners and the practice required for disclosure under this act can be made available to the public. All requests for such information should be made to the practice management.
GP Earnings
All GP practices are required to declare the mean earnings (i.e. average pay) for GPs working to deliver NHS services to patients at each practice.
The average pay for GPs who worked for six months or more at Parklands Surgery in the 2019/20 financial year was £69,091 before Tax and National Insurance. This was for eight part time GPs and one locum GP.
Patient Preferences
Please complete this form to tell us your preferences on the topics below. You do not need to complete all the sections, just those that you wish to update us about.
If you are applying for Online Services for the first time you will need to bring the form into the surgery with a photo ID (e.g. Passport or Driving Licence). Otherwise you can post the form to the surgery at Parklands Surgery, 4 Parklands Road, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 3DT. If you cannot download this form you will be able to ask for one and complete it, next time you visit the surgery.
Summary Care Record (SCR)
You will already have a Basic SCR (unless you previously instructed us that you did not want one). This gives health and care professionals in other NHS organisations, e.g. St Richard’s Hospital’s Accident & Emergency Department, details of important information about your health that we hold. We recommend that you make the Enhanced SCR available but the choice is yours. Please see the form for the differences between the various options.
Communication Requirements
Please use the form to tell us how we can communicate with you better if, potentially because of some form of impairment, you find it hard to read our letters or if you need someone to support you at appointments. We would also appreciate you using the form to tell us if you do not have any specific communication requirements.
Electronic Prescription Service
If you get regular prescriptions, the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) may be able to save you time by avoiding unnecessary trips to Parklands Surgery. EPS makes it possible for your prescriptions to be sent electronically to the pharmacy of your choice. This means you’ll no longer have to collect a paper repeat prescription from the practice – instead, you can go straight to the nominated pharmacy to pick up your medicines.
Online Services
SystmOnline is a range of free of charge online services to allow patients to proactively manage their care. These services allow patients to view their own Electronic Medical Record as well as booking appointments and managing medication. SystmOnline is available via the surgery’s website or via Android or Apple apps, providing patients with convenience and flexibility when managing their care. This service specifically enables patients to:
- View coded information in their electronic medical record.
- View test results.
- Manage their appointments.
- Request repeat medication.
- Update demographic details.
- Message their healthcare service.
- Complete questionnaires.
Summary Care Record
There is a new Central NHS Computer System called the Summary Care Record (SCR). It is an electronic record which contains information about the medicines you take, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.
Why do I need a Summary Care Record?
Storing information in one place makes it easier for healthcare staff to treat you in an emergency, or when your GP practice is closed.
This information could make a difference to how a doctor decides to care for you, for example which medicines they choose to prescribe for you.
Who can see it?
Only healthcare staff involved in your care can see your Summary Care Record.
How do I know if I have one?
Over half of the population of England now have a Summary Care Record. You can find out whether Summary Care Records have come to your area by asking your GP.
Do I have to have one?
No, it is not compulsory. If you choose to opt out of the scheme, then you will need to complete a form and bring it along to the surgery.
More Information
For further information visit the NHS Care records website.
The Practice Charter
Our Responsibility to You
- All patients will be treated with respect, kindness and dignity, irrespective of ethnic origin, religion, cultural beliefs, sex or age.
- We are committed to providing the best possible medical care for you.
- Doctors and all Health Professionals will begin their surgeries at the specified time unless a medical emergency prevents this.
- You will be advised of treatment options and kept informed about your heath and likely outcome of your illness.
- You will have access to your own medical records
- We will offer Healthy Living advice.
- To provide information about services available.
- You will receive urgent medical attention when required.
- We will welcome any suggestions you may have to improve the level of service offered to you.
- Complaints will be dealt with under the NHS Complaints Procedure.
- We offer the facility of a chaperone for intimate examinations.
Your Responsibility to Us
- We expect you to be courteous to the Doctors, all Health Professionals and staff at all times.
- We expect you to attend for your appointment at the time given and give us adequate notice should you need to cancel.
- Appointments to be made for one person only.
- We expect you to come to the surgery unless you are too ill to attend. A home visit will be arranged with a Doctor and any request for a home visit should be made by 10.00 am.
- Help yourself by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.